A Thousand Years
by Athena Evarinya
Summary: How to be brave? How can you love when you're afraid to fall? Yet no matter how hard and scary, each step is worth it to reach a love of a life time as six hearts learn the true meaning of falling in love.
1. Strange Messages

**Chapter One: Strange Messages **

Son Pan exited the gate, shivering as she got hit by a blast of cold air from the airport's air conditioning. She stepped aside out of the main flow of exiting passengers to take a moment to pause and check the time. 2:19 p.m. She had told her best friends, Bra Briefs and Marron Chestnut that her plane would probably be getting in at around 2:35 p.m. and knowing the two of them as she did, they wouldn't arrive until then to pick her up. While neither woman was ever late, they weren't known for arriving early either.

It wasn't like she actually needed for them to come pick her up. All of her stuff was stored in the extra-deluxe Capsule Corps. storage capsules that Bulma, Bra's mother, had sent her last Christmas as a gift and a subtle hint to remind her that it was time to move her ass back home. She could easily just walk out of the building and fly to her parents' home, but the problem with that was there was no place she could safely do so without being seen. The people of Earth had remarkably short term memories and despite seeing feats of 'amazement' at world tournaments and when the occasionally word-destroying or conquering megalomaniac threatening the planet over the years, it still freaked them out to see what was considered an impossibility. Of course, she could have just avoided all this by actually flying home on her own power instead of a plane, but her friends in Tazo City had chipped in to pay for the first-class ticket to send her back home in style and she couldn't just turn down such an expensive and thoughtful gift.

"Pan! Panny!"

It was the only warning she got before she was enveloped from behind in a great, big bear hug. Her heightened Saiyan nose picked up a familiar smell that was a mixture of baked goods, spices, cologne and the underlying happy masculine scent that that was unique to Son Goten, her uncle, although their relationship had always been more of brother and sister then uncle and niece. It was one of the reasons why she rarely referred to him as uncle unless she was teasing him or happened to be pissed off enough or needed the distance that using that familial title gave.

"Put me down, you big goofball," she shrieked, legs kicks wildly above the ground. He merely laughed and swung her around in a circle a few times and made her dizzy before setting her back down on the ground. Pan flung her arms around him and clung him, to the comfort that she got from being around him again.

Goten was one of the few men in her life that could just make her feel completely safe and happy when she was around him. The only other two had been her Grandpa Goku and her father. It had to be male Son trait because her mother and grandmother had said they had felt the same way, when she had brought it up one time as child. She stared up at him, ebony meeting ebony, and grinned because it didn't seem like he had changed at all in the fours years she had been away.

Oh sure, she had seen him a few times over the years, but the visits had been too short and to far in between. She should have spent more time with the people she cared about, but she had been too with college, work and the friends she had made in Tazo City. And then there was that...

"Hey, what are we? Chopped liver over here?"

Pan let go and spun around, the trademark sunny smile that she had inherited from Grandpa Goku on her face. "Bra! Marron!" she cried, and then her smile faltered just for a split second as she realized who else was with them. "Trunks! I wasn't expecting you to show up too. I thought you would be busy with work."

"Never too busy to find time to see you, Panny," Trunks replied, his voice and the expression on his face a little less warm then what it would have normally been. A sure sign that he had noticed her initial reaction to him and had been hurt. He always had been more like his father than his mother, especially when it came down to matters of pride and feelings. He'd cut off his own leg before he admitted that something had hurt his feelings.

"Wow, girl you look good," Marron said, drawing her attention away from the Saiyan Prince. The blonde circled Pan, nodding her head approvingly. "I see you've finally seen the error of your ways. Congratulations for joining the world of fashion."

Pan rolled her eyes, although she couldn't really deny her friend's words. Before she had left, she hadn't really cared much for shopping and fashion like her best friends had. She hadn't been a total failure, but she had never really put much effort into the whole matching and accessories business. If it hadn't been for Marron and Bra she would have probably been at the mercy of the Plastics, the popular girls of her high school who loved nothing better then picking at a person who wasn't part of their clique for one reason or another. She may have escaped being attacked for her sense of style, which was limited back then, but she hadn't completely escaped being called a freak for the strength and speed she had gained from her Saiyan blood. Even Bra had to deal with some of the catty comments and she had been one of the most popular girls in school because of her personality, looks, and money.

She glanced down at the outfit she had chosen to wear. The tunic she wore was stretchy, so it would be comfortable on the long trip, and clung admirably to the curves that had finally developed after her high school years. The tunic was in the signature red that she and her best friends were known for; they had certainly worn it often enough while growing up. She paired it up black leggings,  
that made her legs look longer then they were. Considering she was of average height, every little bit helped.

"I can't believe you let your hair grow out, Pan," Bra said, picking up a strand of her friend's black hair and twirling it for a moment before letting it fall back in place. "It's as long as Hana's. You two could pass as twins."

"Big duh. She is my younger sister," Pan replied. "Speaking of Hana, where is she? I thought that she and Mirai would have come with you guys to meet me."

"Hana's shopping for a new outfit to wear to the party later and comforting her new boy toy because he can't come," Goten answered, a hint of disapproving snarl in his voice at the mention of the boy toy. It didn't matter if his relationship with his nieces was more sibling-like then what it really was, he still didn't like any males sniffing around them anymore then his brother did. "As for Mirai, she would have come but Gohan grounded her so you won't see her until the party, which if we don't get a move-on we'll be late too."

"Party? What party? I told Bulma not to have a party," Pan complained as they began making their way through the crowds to the entrance; although she knew it was a waste of air to complain. Bulma always threw parties for the smallest reason. The woman lived for them and would have thrown one everyday if it wasn't for the fact that her mate/husband would literally have a royal fit over it. Saying Vegeta wasn't a people-person was an understatement. Even with those within their group, he was distant although they all understood he did care in his own gruff and arrogant way. "And why is Mirai grounded?"

"She got suspended on the last day of school," Bra replied, flashing a grin at a group of guys as they passed, which had the effect of leaving them in a pool of brainless hormones. The Princess of all Saiyans (which was a depressing number of nine) had that kind of effect on men and she was well aware of it. If she wanted, she could have had any one of those guys as her new boyfriend, but the Saiyan Princess had her heart set on one very clueless guy. "Something about sending the entire football team to the emergency room."

"They had it coming," Marron added, grinning evilly. "They cornered her and were trying to feel her up. Boy, I bet none of those guys will ever cop a feel on a girl after this. But I suppose if you look at it from male perspective, it was hard not to resist temptation. Mirai's really grown up in the last four years. She even gives Hana and Bra a run for their money with getting attention from the guys."

"This I'll have to see," Pan said, as they reached Marron's car, a convertible the same color as the tunic she wore and that had the distinction of being able to be labeled as cute and sexy at the same time. A fitting combination since those were the two words she would have used to describe her best friend. Only problem was that it really wasn't meant for five people, especially if two were as big and muscular as her uncle and Trunks were.

"Shotgun," Bra called, jumping in the passenger seat and earning a glare from everyone but Marron. "First come, first serve!"

"Shouldn't I get shotgun since I haven't been back in ages," Pan countered, grudgingly slipping in the back seat. Damn it, now she was going to be squished and in between both guys, since neither thought it was right for two men to be sitting next to each other in a car if there was a girl who could be sitting between them.

"That kind of logic only works if you weren't like family," Bra replied, flaunting her rights by getting comfy in the passenger seat. "In family it's the best Saiyan… er person" she flashed a grin at Marron, "for herself."

"Scoot over Pan," Goten complained as he got in on from left side and managed to push her more into Trunks who had already gotten in the car and was sitting on her right side. "I barely have enough space here."

"Tough luck, Goten," she retorted. "I scoot over anymore and I'll be sitting in Trunks's lap."

"Hey that's good idea. Do it!"

"What," Pan said, giving her uncle a 'look'. There was no way she could sit in Trunks's lap. Not after her initial reaction to him. It just wouldn't be good.

"What's the big deal, Pan," Goten asked, looking confused as to why Pan would hesitate or be upset. "You used to sit in his lap when you were a kid."

"You're not afraid are you, Panny," Trunks asked, that trademark smirk that he had inherited from his father on his face. She didn't think he had figured out the why, but he had clued in that she didn't want to get that close to him. He had challenged her deliberately, poked at her pride to get her to do something she had hoped to get out of somehow. She was Saiyan, no matter how diluted her blood was, and a Saiyan never gave up their pride, not unless it was something that meant more to them then pride. Plus it just wasn't in her personality to back down from a challenge and they had once been very close before she had left, so he'd know that particular quirk of hers.

"The day I'm scared of you Briefs, is the day that your father admits that my grandfather is his best friend," Pan said, moving so she sat on his lap. She tried to ignore the fact of how good he smelled to her, but in a whole different way then her uncle, or how she liked having his arm wrapped around her waist to hold her steady while Marron drove (the woman had major issues while behind the wheel).

Fuck it all. This was why she had left in the first place, because she had to notice Trunks, not as one of her closest friends, but as a flesh-and-blood man who sent her pulse racing whenever she was around him. Up until that day, four years ago she had seen Trunks as one of her best friends and maybe a brother figure like Goten. Sure, she knew he was hot. She wasn't blind and the media and female population never let her forget how in demand he was. But then something had happened and she really began to see him and that's when things went to hell because she started noticing things. How blue his eyes looked when he really smiled from his heart and didn't give her that arrogant smirk that was so typical of a child of Vegeta. Or how sexy said smirk could be. Her thoughts were no longer staying in the PG-13 range and that had scared and worried her.

Trunks was one of her best friends. A brother figure. He was fourteen years her senior. And here she was lusting after him and having thoughts that probably made a porn movie seem tame in comparison. What was she supposed to do? She had panicked and decided that she needed space away from him. Maybe if she was away from him she could get her mind back to where it needed to be and her hormones under control. She wasn't about to screw up a friendship, just because she had suddenly decided she wanted to jump his bones.

So she had jumped at the chance to study in Tazo University for college. But being her father's daughter, she had graduated ahead of time, two years ahead and that hadn't been enough time to work through whatever infection had made her want to rip Trunks's clothes off when she saw him. To avoid going home, she had started her career in Tazo City, ironically enough working for a branch of Capsule Corporation located there. Two years she had thrown herself into the work, making herself so busy that it was next to impossible to visit or to visit for very long so she had managed to avoid the sight of him in person, quite a feat considering he was the president of the entire company and surely had to make visits to the other branches on occasion. And then she had been transferred back home, which she suspected was due to her mother, grandmother, and Bulma's combined influences.

She hadn't been ready to be back. Her reaction to Trunks being here was proof of that. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings. She had just been shocked by his presence and angry with herself because she was still lusting after him. Great, lusting after the boss. Another no-no and cliché of life that she was breaking. She just seemed to be racking them up lately.

"Why so quiet, Pan?"

Pan had to resist the urge to shiver when Trunks whispered into her ear. It seemed so intimate considering they were with friends and just the feel of his hot breath… well she was just glad that her body didn't react any more then a shiver because with three demi-Saiyans in the car, it would be hard to hide it if her reaction was anything more. At least she could chalk this up to being that he had surprised her and not because of anything else that could be labeled X-rated.

"Just thinking," she answered quietly, meeting his eyes. "It's good to be home. Although I wish your mom wouldn't throw a party. There's no need."

"You know how my mom is," Trunks replied, amusement lurking in his eyes. There was nothing quite like family to get the Saiyan Prince in a better mood even if he might still be miffed with her. "She loves her parties. She'd throw one everyday if Father wouldn't have a fit. Since she can't she jumps at the slightest reason she can get away with having one. Be glad that you've had a break while you were gone."

They stared at each other and he gave her one of his half-smiles that told her that he would forgive her for the unintentional slight she had given him earlier. His half-smiles had always been his way of meeting her halfway in some mishap in their friendship which let her know that he didn't want to fight or make something worse then it normally was. She smiled back at him and his own smile deepened. They could never really stay mad or upset at each for very long, especially for something that couldn't be considered major considering some of their other fights in the past. She was home again and she still had these pesky lustful feelings towards Trunks. Somehow she'd deal with them.

Somehow.

* * *

Despite the weird feelings that Trunks set off inside her, Pan was still glad to be home. Although she could do without Master Roshi and Oolong's not-so-subtle hugs that they used to try and feel her up. Dende, they were both so old now. Couldn't they act their age and stop ogling women like they had since as far back as anyone could remember? Then again maybe they were masochists who liked pain, since her instinctive reaction to being felt up was pull back and punch them so hard then went flying across the room.

"Good. You haven't slacked off in your training, brat"

She turned and raised an eyebrow at Vegeta, but didn't bother saying anything in return. It was just like the man to not bother greeting her properly and instead focus on whether or not she had kept up training to get stronger and hone her abilities while she was away (and how did he know that she had kept up her training?). If she didn't know him as well as she did, she would have thought that all he cared about was training. But she knew how important his family was and how much he grudgingly cared about the friends he had made on Earth.

In his own way, he was welcoming her home and she understood that training was still important. You never knew when the next big bad would decide to show up on Earth, and like Grandpa Goku, the King of all Saiyans worried about the new generation not being strong enough to defend the Earth. Earth was for better or for worse home for Vegeta and the last of the Saiyan race. He didn't want his descendents to be defeated by some upstart alien or whatever hell decided to show up. And with the Saiyan bloodline thinning with each generation, it was something to worry about that they would be getting weaker instead of stronger and leaving Earth defenseless.

"Of course Pan's been training," Mirai said, as she joined her sister and their quote unquote King. "She's not like that slacker Prince who spends more energy being a bum then a warrior." The smirk upon Mirai Son's face was eerily similar to that of Vegeta and his children. It made Pan wonder how much time the youngest Son spent with the man, because it was clear she was picking up character quirks by osmosis. It wasn't really surprising as Mirai did tend to look up to Vegeta, particularly as he had become a bit of a surrogate grandfather, since their own wasn't as around as much thanks to that Dragon Balls mess.

It was still quite a shock to see how much her baby sister had changed while she had been gone. Especially since most of the changes had occurred in the past year. Mirai had been 13 when she had left for America and had been as much of a tomboy as Pan had been at that age. From e-mails and phone calls she knew that hadn't changed much with her sister, although Mirai's physical form had. Unlike Pan, Mirai as well as their sister Hana had bloomed much earlier. It was a bit disturbing to see that Mirai's breasts were about as big as her own, especially since it had taken her much longer to grows breasts that she could be proud of, instead of being embarrassed as being nearly as flat as a board.

Even though Mirai's style seemed to tend to lean towards the baggy and goth-like, it did nothing to detract from the fact that her baby sister had a nice body. The black scoop neck fishnet top and flared denim jeans she wore just emphasized the curves she had. It was little surprise that the youngest daughter of Gohan and Videl was beating, literally, the boys back away from her. She was certain to be quite a looker as an adult. Despite her tough attitude, there was a softness in Miari's appearance that Pan and Hana did not have.

"Squirt, you should show more respect more for your elders," Vegeta replied, scowling although it was obvious to those who knew the signs that he wasn't mad at Mirai's dismissive words about his son. "The boy could beat you even if he tied a hand behind his back."

It was Mirai's turn to scowl, since her height was a sore point with her. She had always been the shortest one in her class and being petite had often meant that bullies mistook her for being weak. They had quickly learned the error of that assumption, but it ended up with her having a reputation of being a 'little freaky monster,' although people didn't use the 'little' part while she was around. "Perhaps, once he had that type of strength, but now I could beat him without the use of either of my hands. He grows weak with the choices he makes."

And with that enigmatic statement she left to go terrorize Master Roshi and Oolong as only a teenager could. Pan frowned, puzzled at what her sister had meant. Trunks was not the type of person to do things that made him weak. He was his father's son through and through in this. Even his mother was not the type to do things that would be seen as weak.

"Are you going to fight for it this time, brat?" Vegeta asked, drawing her attention. She blinked, the classic Son expression of cluelessness upon her face.

"Huh?"

"Fight for it, brat. Strangely, you feel it more strongly despite your diluted blood, so you will suffer more if you don't complete it. Don't run away again. I'll let you off for the first time. You were more child than woman then. But a Saiyan woman does not run away from what is hers."

For the second time that night, Pan was left totally puzzled by something someone had said. What the hell had Vegeta meant about fighting? Suffer? Suffer from what? Damn it, coming home and dealing with her lustful feelings for Trunks was bad enough. Did everyone else have to say stuff to confuse her?

* * *

_**Final Thought from Pan:**__  
What are they talking about?_

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**__ This story was formerly known as 'Call Me Maybe', however as I begin the process of revision and edits I really didn't think the title was fitting and a few spins on iTunes helped me find a title that I think will fit the overall tone of the entire story. Anyways, I'm fairly certain that after going over it three times, and making edits and cutting out bits, that I've caught any mistakes. However, should you see one please let me know so I can go back and fix it. Anyways, enjoy. =)_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not claim any rights to Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Toriyama Akira and anyone else he says has rights to it._


	2. Knowing One's Heart

**Chapter Two: Knowing One's Heart**

An hour later, Pan was still trying to decipher the cryptic words of the Saiyan King and her baby sister as she mingled with her family and friends. Though the Z gang had always been a close-knit group, they rarely gathered like this en masse unless at the insistence of Bulma or her grandmother. It was more the norm that you would probably see someone in the group every few weeks in passing as you went about with your life; of course, if you had stronger ties, such as her friendship with Bra and Marron, then clearly there would be more time spent in the company of those friends.

The only downside to the party was that Uub wasn't there. Marron had told her that the spiky haired, tanned god was close to cracking the murder case he was currently working on. However, everyone knew that was an excuse as much as a reason to man's absence. Uub just didn't want to be in the same room with Goten and vice versa; they'd just wind up getting into fight and Uub hadn't wanted to spoil the party for Pan.

In any case, she still found it baffling as to why Vegeta had meant. Run away? What the hell did he mean by that? She never ran away from anything. She had left to go to college and because… Pan nearly choked on her drink as the idea occurred to her that Vegeta knew about her lustful thoughts about his son.

'_Oh great, green Dende balls_,' her mind screamed in panic. '_There is no way! NO WAY!_' She had been very careful about hiding her reactions to the Saiyan Prince, as soon as she realized he could provoke them in her by simply breathing. No, there was absolutely no way, just no way that Vegeta could suspect the extreme R-rating of her thoughts.

Maybe he thought she still had a crush on Trunks? That was more plausible since she had definitely had a crush on him when she was younger? Who didn't? Well Bra, but that was a really big duh of why because if it wasn't it would be a really big ewww. But, after spending a year in space with Trunks and putting him up with him 24/7 had killed the crush and replaced it with a strong and close friendship. He was one of her best guy friends, which was why it had disturbed she had suddenly started having visions of tearing up the sheets with him.

"Pan, you all right?"

Pan blinked and looked up into Trunks's concerned blue eyes. She hadn't even realized it, but she had drifted outside while she was working out Vegeta's enigmatic message and her own issues of lust towards the lavender-haired man before her. It was only the two of them outside by the pool. Inside they could hear the beginnings of one of Vegeta's random challenges to her grandfather, who had been allowed to return to Earth as a treat for her. Hard to believe that the two men were actually best friends with the way the Saiyan King treated Grandpa Goku, but in their own odd way they shared as close of a bond as she shared with her own friends.

"Yeah, fine. Just a little disappointed that Uub isn't here, I guess," she replied with a sad smile. "And about earlier, at the airport… the way I reacted when I saw you… it wasn't personal Trunks… Part of me was hoping that you had been Uub, because that would mean everything was back to normal again." Well it was half-truth, she had wished that Uub had been at the airport with Goten on one level. On another level she had wished she had more mental preparation in seeing Trunks again. Or better yet that these crazy lustful feelings were gone.

"Forget it, it's all right," he said, plopping down on one of the pool chairs and motioned for her to sit in the one next to his. "Believe me, you're not the only one who wants things back the way they were when we could all hang out. Dende, I wish those idiots had never met Mint Delton."

Mint Delton was a buxom pink-haired bombshell who had strolled into all of their lives, or more precisely Goten and Uub's, five years ago. She came from a moderately rich family (moderately was used since no one's wealth compared to the Briefs') and was probably more arrogant about her 'blue' bloodlines then Vegeta was about his royal and pure Saiyan blood. That in itself was an accomplishment considering it was the King of Sayians you were comparing someone with. The pink-haired little whore was a social climber in the worst sense.

Although Pan wasn't one hundred percent certain, she was sure the woman had made a pass at Trunks, but had been turned down since the Capsule Corps President. Trunks hated gold diggers and he didn't like superficial women any better. He had to dealt with more then his fair share of such women because of his wealth and position, so Trunks had a sixth sense (or maybe it was just because he had become that cynical) about knowing when a woman truly wanted him or what he could provide her.

Unfortunately Goten nor Uub had that kind of ability. While both men had some fame growing up in competing in the World Martial Arts Tournament, they had essentially grown up as 'small town' boys and thus were naive to women like Mint, who was after getting the richest and most powerful man. And while neither, Goten and Uub were in the same league as Trunks, neither were prizes to be sneezed at which was probably why the pink-haired hussy kept swinging back and forth between them depending on her moods.

Goten was the owner of several five-star restaurants and a rising internationally famed chef. You had to book in months advance to get reservations on nights when he worked in his own kitchen, not that reservations on normal nights were that easy. He had an excellent staff at all his restaurants, from the head chefs down to the waiters, so that the service and food was always superb and made people keep coming back for more.

As for Uub, he was one of the top murder cops at Capsule City's police headquarters. He was know for solving extraordinarily hard and gruesome cases and was often asked as a consultant in other parts of the world for his skills. But it wasn't just that he was good at closing cases, Uub gave a damn about the victims. He stood for them and made sure they got their justice.

Mint drifted back and forth between the men depending on who was more popular at the time and making some wild and crazy excuse as to why she was breaking off the relationship to return to her other ex. And for some cockamamie reason, the two morons believed her every time. Even more irritating and baffling was that they believed the lies that she spewed about the other who had once been a best friend. It often made Pan wonder if Mint wasn't slipping something into her uncle and friend's drink or food because they were usually so rational. While they might get distracted by a pretty face, they just weren't the type to turn on a friend or accept the vacillating behavior of a woman.

"I wonder if she's been slipping them anything to make them irrational," she mused aloud her thoughts. She thought she saw a bit of change in Trunks to her comment. It could have merely been her imagination her maybe it had never occurred to Trunks that there might be a logical solution to his best friends' illogical behavior.

"Might, I'll look into it," he said after a long pause of silence. She knew he'd be able to pull it off. He might have his father's son in a lot of ways, but when it came to the brains and science end of things he was definitely Bulma's. "It'll be easy to compare stuff since they live in the same building as us."

"Yeah," Pan said, without thinking before his words has sunk in. She nearly gave herself whiplash to look at him. "What do you mean we're living in the same building? I'm living in the same building as Marron and Bra."

"Yeah, you are, but Goten, Uub, and I live in the building too," he replied, looking faintly amused by her surprise. "Didn't Bra tell you? The apartment building is owned by Capsule Corps which is why you're getting such a great price for your place. If you went somewhere else you'd be dishing out more money for the same kind of apartment and without the amenities you'd be getting at our building."

Pan looked slightly dazed as her mind worked through the information. She had decided, before moving back, that she wouldn't move back in with her parents. She was twenty-four, after all, and she had been living on her own for quite some time now. There was no need to deal with the drama that would come with living with her parents and sisters again. So it had been the most logical thing to accept Bra's offer to secure her an apartment in the same building that she and Marron lived in.

She would have roomed with one of them, but both of them had single-bedroom units (well actually they had two-bedroom apartments but the spare bedroom was being used as offices/gyms/etc). Some would have thought that it was ridiculous for Bra and Marron to have gotten two separate apartments when they had moved into the same apartment building, but then again those people didn't know her best friends very well. Marron tended to be a little bit anal when it came to being neat. Not that Bra was a messy person, but she tended to live in the state of organized clutter which would have driven Marron crazy. And Marron would have driven Bra crazy by putting stuff away. There was a logic to Bra's clutter, so putting things away Marron-syle would have made it impossible for the blue-haired beauty to find anything she needed.

But to find out that Goten, Uub, and Trunks were living in the same building added a kink into her plans. She had been looking forward to having a peaceful home environment after the craziness of living in the States with weird, but wonderful roommates and psychotic neighbors. She wasn't going to get that with Uub and Goten living in the same building. They were usually good at avoiding each other, but sometimes a meeting was unavoidable, which would lead to them ignoring each other while their kis spiked erratically or they got into a physical fight which wasn't a good thing considering the power of the men involved.

And then there was that little problem of close proximity with Trunks when she wasn't sure how to handle him. How was she to achieve some level of composure with him? To call back the normalcy that had once been between them before she had started having these crazy lustful thoughts for him?

"Trunks," Mirai said, drawing Pan and Trunks's attention as she stepped outside. "You're needed inside. Apparently this time the battle of the day between Grandpa and Vegeta is to see who has the strongest offspring. You and Goten have to fight."

"Why me," Trunks grumbled good-naturedly as he rose. "He does realize that he has two kids, right?"

"Oh please. All Bra has to do is flutter her eyes at her Daddy and Vegeta turns into a puddle of Saiyan goo," Mirai replied, grinning. It was a well known fact that the Saiyan King doted on his Princess, who he saw as perfection for looking like her mother and being able to kick ass like her Daddy. If Bra didn't want to fight then Vegeta usually let her get away with avoiding these ridiculous challenges that he got into with Goku. "As for Dad, he doesn't train enough to please Vegeta so he was magnanimous enough not to press upon an unfair advantage and said Goten has to fight instead."

"Pfffft, well I guess I better get this over with," Trunks said. "You coming in too, Pan?"

"No, you've hogged Pan long enough. It's my turn to have some time with my sister," Mirai cut in before Pan could answer. Pan arched an eyebrow about the imperious tone in her younger sister's voice but nodded in agreement. Mirai didn't often express her wants out loud often, so everyonetended to give way when she did. Obviously her sister had something to say.

"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted," the lavender-haired Prince retorted and headed inside, leaving the two sisters out on the patio. Mirai kicked off her black flats and sat on the pool's edge, cautiously dunking her feet into the water before submerging them. Pan rose from her lounge chair and moved to sit next to her sister, also opting to taking her shoes off and dunking her feet.

"So what's up kiddo," Pan asked.

"How do you feel about Trunks," Mirai asked, looking up from the rippling water and up into her sister's eyes. "I mean, how you really, really feel about him?"

There was just something about having her Mirai look at her directly, which could be a bit unnerving at times as like everything in life the youngest Son sister never did anything by halves. With Son Mirai, the phrase "all or nothing" was a literal interpretation of how she lived her life. Her sister's gaze demanded answers and said she'd know if Pan was lying. Somehow the gaze and the questions had the unsettling feeling of making her feel like as if she had been stupid long enough to let her guard down while sparring and somebody had landed a really good blow to her stomach. She didn't know why, but the question had her panicking again.

"Why do you ask that, Mirai? You know he's one of my best friends," she answered, trying to sound calm but not quite keeping that tremble out of her voice. She felt like something inside her was screaming for to escape. To not think so deeply, because if she did nothing would be the same. It would be worse then suddenly developing lustful thoughts about Trunks.

"Is that really all he is to you Pan?"

There was something in Mirai's voice and eyes that seemed more to Pan. Not something you'd expect from a teen. But then when had Mirai or any of them in this group ever been normal? They were more because of their bloodlines and who they were and were related to. They had all fought one big bad at least once in their life. Pan had even died once and been wished back. To think it wouldn't affect her baby sister was stupid.

"Vegeta's right. You are still running from it. Or maybe it's more correct to say you haven't acknowledged it consciously." There was a hint of sympathy and sadness in Mirai's voice.

"Consciously realized what," Pan demanded, finally having reached the last straw of having people talk circles around her and not tell her what they meant. A part of her scared to find out yet the stubborn half of her and that Dende-damned Sayian pride and fearlessness made her push ahead.

"If you don't know yet I don't think you want to know. Or if you're ready."

"TELL ME, MIRAI."

They both stared at each other, stunned by Pan's outburst. In unison, they glanced back at the house to see if anyone had noticed. But they had nothing to worry about since it seemed the whole gang had moved towards the gravity room to watch the duel between Trunks and Goten.

"Very well. Pan, you love Trunks. And not in the 'you're my best friend who happens to be a guy' kinda way, but the 'you're my mate' kinda way."

"Wh-" Pan started to protest before her sister's words fit into a piece inside of her like a puzzle. Images poured through her mind, a jumble of memories and what were visions or hopes of the future. She had so many memories… memories of Trunks because it seemed every memory she had, he was somehow intertwined into them.

Trunks smiling at her after they and the rest of the younger generation Z gang ahd gone to the amusement park. For some unknown reason they had all gotten a thrill on going on the rides, even though compared to what they could do on their own, riding a roller coaster shouldn't have been as much fun as it had been.

Trunks looking tired, dripping with sweat after a sparring match with Goten and Uub, but yet having the strength to give her a cocky smirk at being the victor.

Trunks, floating outside her bedroom window apologizing for forgetting her birthday, looking so adorably cute and reminding her of a puppy, that had just got caught making an accident on the carpet. He hadn't appreciated that comparison, when she had pointed it out to him, and had come into her room to tickle her in punishment until she had finally begged for mercy (and then later fiercely denied begging).

And between those memories, there was images… images that had often been vague because she had never placed a face to them… until now. Waking up to see Trunks sleeping next to her and then seeing him slowly wake up with a smile of pleasure because she was the first thing he saw in the morning. Or seeing herself standing in the kitchen cooking stir fry, while he pretended to help but instead kept sneaking pieces of chicken from the pan. Or the final stirring image, walking down the aisle on her father's arm and seeing Trunks at the altar turn and look at her and light up knowing that she'd soon be his and only his for all time.

It slowly sunk in. She was in love with Trunks. Had been in love for quite some time. Even quite possibly all her life. Every guy she had dated had reminded her of Trunks in some way but none had lasted because they weren't Trunks. Like any other red-blooded woman she had had fantasies of men and what it would be like to kiss them or maybe more. Yet none of those fantasies had come close to the fantasies she had had of the Prince of Saiyans that had started to occur when she was twenty.

It had been him. For years she had been wearing blinders because they had been friends first and foremost. She hadn't wanted to ruin that and so some part of her had shielded her, but the shield had started cracking over the years. And now it was gone. She finally knew her own heart.

"But Dende help me what do I do now?"

* * *

_**Final Thought from Pan:  
**__I'm in love with Trunks…_

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_**Author's Note: **__  
__Okay here are the ages of the characters of the younger generation in the story. Some may be a little off then actual canon, but they've been edited to suit the story._

_Trunk Briefs: 38  
Goten Son: 37  
Uub Magia: 33  
Marron Chestnut: 31  
Bra Briefs: 25  
Pan Son: 24  
Hana Son: 19  
Mirai Son : 17_

_I'm still Beta-less so this is all on me to do the editing and catch mistakes. If I have missed anything, I apologize for the blooper and I ask that you please let me know so I can fix it._

_I want to thank everyone who took the time to review or favorited this story in some way. It is greatly appreciated and brought a smile to my day. =)_

**_FFNET_**

lolgirl ● nite-fire ● Natellah (_Whoopsie. Thanks for pointing out that mistake. Also I want to thank you for your kind words of support in the PM._) ● Vegetable lov3r ● Loreena85 (_LOL, yes Gohan has his hands full with his girls. But at least he can count upon Goten to help keep the bad boys away from his baby girls. =P_) ● jtibb64

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_**Disclaimer:** I do not claim any rights to Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Toriyama Akira and anyone else he says has rights to it._


	3. Just Another Body

**Chapter Three: Just Another Body**

It was not in Pan's nature to avoid or pretend that a problem didn't exist. No, that was more of her sister Hana's modus operandi. The middle Son sister was infamous for burying her head in the sand like an ostrich until she couldn't or the problem forced itself to become an avoidable issue. Pan preferred dealing with her problems head on, although age had taught her that sometimes a little patience was best before grabbing the bull by the horns, so to speak. She had learned how to outwardly appear as if all the world was fine while she brooded internally over her issues.

As for Mirai, she was a lot like Pan; however when the youngest Son sister brooded you tended to know it, though you wouldn't know the reason behind the brood until Mirai was good and ready to share. According to their mother, Mirai apparently been brooding a lot more she doubted her sister's life was rife with that much conflict (a fist tended to fix that problem and was one of her sister's favorite go-to solutions), Pan figured it was either a teenage phase or it was just another trait she had inherited through osmosis from Vegeta, since her baby sister had once had been as cheerful and silly as Goten as a child (although she'd still had a short and hot temper then too).

But going back to the issue at hand, now that she was aware of the true nature of her feelings in regards to the Saiyan Prince (that of being in love with a capital L-O-V-E), there was no going back to the before of pretending it was just hot lust or locking it back up. Love was something that you couldn't fight.

She didn't think her straight-forward approach to life would help her in this situation. Just because she was in love with Trunks didn't mean that he would be in love with her, although it sure would have been nice. But then again, if the Prince of Sayians had been in love with her she was pretty sure he would have given her some indication of it as soon as she hit eighteen and stopped being jailbait. Maybe even tried some of that charm and seduction that he was infamous for, but that was a big 'if' maybe considering who her father was. Protective fathers were always a deterrent to seduction as Gohan and Vegeta had proven to do over the years.

If she revealed her feelings to Trunks, it might damage their friendship since she knew she'd be hurt if he didn't feel the same (even though logically she knew better then to expect it, but then when did logic have much impact upon love?) and he'd feel horrible that he was hurting her. This in turn would make her feel worse and thus a viscous cycle of pain and hurt feelings would ensue to destroy their relationship. Of course, she might have be making mountains of anthills, but that didn't seem to matter as much when she was unpacking her belongings at two in the morning. She had been unable to sleep despite a full day of shopping for essentials for her home with her best friends and having had a sparring session in the afternoon with her sisters (both who had improved at a level that she hadn't expected, particularly of the uber-girly Hana).

Still where did that really leave her now? In love with a man who's affections towards her ran to that of brotherly and a best friend? While those feelings weren't anything to sneeze at, Pan knew that it just wasn't enough for her. Or maybe it would be enough if she knew that she had put an honest effort to turn his affections into something more (and more importantly not losing what she had) and it just hadn't been in the stars for her? There had to be some way to test the waters without risking the friendship or to suffer complete and utter humiliation she'd feel if he realized her true feelings.

So perhaps the best way to move on was to figure out a way to see if he could see her in a different way. If he could see her not as a little sister or best friend type, but as a woman to be desired. There was no guarantee that he was or would fall in love with her, but a 'could' was better then a complete and utter 'no'. She just needed a plan of action.

While she had her fair share of dating experience, she didn't think there was anything in her repertoire of how to seduce a man without him realizing that was what you're doing. She thought back on her past relationships as she moved out of the disaster zone that was her bedroom and into the living room, not bothering to turn on a light. Whether it was arrogance in thinking she could navigate in the dark, having above-normal sight in the dark thanks to her Saiyan blood, diluted as it may be, or having a fairly good idea of where all furniture and boxes were, it turned out to be a bad idea.

A very, very bad one.

"OWWWWWWWWWW!" she howled in pain, hopping away from the offending box that had attacked her defenseless toe. She could have sworn that the box and the ones around it had not been there before she had gotten ready for her failed attempt to go to bed earlier that night. And she certainly would have never left boxes near the entrance of the kitchen like that; the only explanation she could think of was one of her capsules had rolled off the table and opened and left its contents which she had the misfortune to find out in a painful manner.

She plopped down onto the couch, clutching her foot as the pain began to slowly ebb away. She whimpered as she massaged her abused digit. If it wasn't for the residual pain it would actually be kinda funny. After all, she had worse happen to her while sparring or during the hopefully once in a lifetime fighting to save the Earth from bad guys episode of her life; so why should stubbing her toe against a box hurt more then what she had gone through then?

Come to think of it, she had noticed all her friends and family do the same thing at one time or another (well Vegeta had never howled in pain, but he had scowled a lot harder then usual when he had hit his knee against some invention of Bulma's; the next day the same invention had been discarded by the inventor and had been used for target practice by Vegeta). Trunks wasn't as stoic as father, although he wasn't as big of a baby as Goten who usually hopped around and looked like a retarded one-legged chicken half the time. No, Trunks usually cursed a blue streak (incidentally it was his fault that she was able to curse so well by the age of five, which he denied and tried to blame on his father) and then pouted when she pointed out that he was being a baby about it (hypocritical of her she knew).

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Pan glanced up as she heard the sound of somebody knocking on glass, glancing around until her eyes landed on the sliding door leading to her balcony, where one lavender-haired demi-Saiyan was standing dressed only in a pair of black pajamas pants that were probably silk (nothing but the best for the Prince of all Saiyans and president of Capsule Corps). She had to force herself to tear her eyes away from the smooth sculpted muscles of his chest; damn man had a lickable eight-pack.

What the hell? It was like her thoughts of him had conjured him up.

In reality, he had probably heard her howling before. He lived in the penthouse (no regular apartment for him) above her apartment. The walls and floor of the apartment weren't thin or anything, but Saiyans did have superior hearing after all. She was surprised that Bra hadn't come to investigate since she lived in the apartment below Pan's, but then again she might not be home right now.

She got up and made her way across the room to the sliding door, cautious of the boxes since she didn't care to have a repeat incident. It had been a few days since she'd seen him; actually she hadn't seen him since the party because she had been so busy with moving in and shopping; a likely excuse, her conscious prodded at her. She was avoiding him as much as she had been avoiding the truth of her feelings.

"Shouldn't you be asleep," Pan asked, as she unlocked and slid the door open. She moved back to let him inside, feeling a jolt when his hand accidentally brushed against her own. '_Whoa_,' she thought, talking to herself as she was another individual. '_Down girl. You haven't even made any decisions on what to do, so let's not let the cat out of the bag. Trunks isn't slow, you know._'

"I had some contracts, that I had to go over for tomorrow," he replied. There was a glint in his eyes that she recognized, one that meant he was about to tease her. "Besides even if I was sleeping, do you think I could sleep after that dying cat screech you let out a few minutes ago?"

"I did not screech," retorted Pan indignantly; even if she knew he was only teasing, it never failed that he got a rise out of her. He was good at pushing her buttons, always had been since that year in space that they had spent together. Then again she had annoyed the hell out of him as much as he had her. Yet the trip had made them better friends, best friends. Before they had been little better then acquaintances, one who knew each other because of their connections to Goten and Bra.

"I don't want to hear it from you Trunks Vegeta Briefs."

A wicked grin graced her lips as she got ready to get her payback. While she had been unpacking boxes and putting things where she wanted them, she had come across one that was filled with photo albums. One of the albums was small 10 x 2.5 x 8.6 inches, that was made of black leather and had some of her most prized photographs. Prized blackmail photographs to be exact There was one particular picture that was a great favorite of hers.

"Or should I say Trunksette." She held up the photo album and flipped it open to a photograph that she had taken of Trunks during their space odyssey.

On the planet Gelbo, they had located the Six Star Dragon Ball being used as hair ornament by Leena, the princess of a village. Said village had a monster that spent its days terrifying the inhabitants until they would agree to give him a wife. As the village princess, Leena had been expected to sacrifice herself for the good of the village. The Saiyans had made a deal with Leena to help her in exchange for the Dragon Ball, which had led to Trunks dressing up as Leena so he could be 'captured' by the monster. Unbeknownst to Trunks, Pan had taken a 'few' pictures of him in that getup for future blackmail use.

Pan watched as the man paled, which considering he was rather tanned, made it quite the feat. His jaw dropped and his eyes had that kind of deer-in-the-headlights and I'm-fucked combination look as he stuttered for a few minutes, clearly too shocked to make intelligent conversation. Of course, Trunks wasn't slow so it didn't take long before he got his act together again.

"Hand it over Pan," he demanded, sounding as bossy and arrogant as the Saiyan Prince he was. As if by demanding and gesturing impatiently with his hand would make her hand over one of her prime pieces of blackmail.

And yet in this moment, everything had shifted back to normal again with their normal banter like it had been before he had started starring as the lead in her X-rated dreams. Before she had her baby sister point out to her what she had always known deep in her heart of hearts even when she hadn't been ready to admit to it. Or perhaps before the whole lust thing she hadn't been ready to deal with it because she's still been more child then woman, who wasn't ready to see her best friend as the man he was, let alone someone she could and did love.

But right now, everything was almost normal. Yeah, she still knew the truth in her heart and her dreams since returning home had become increasingly more erotic and the reason why she was taking cold showers in the morning (never let it be said that only men benefited from a cold shower), but before anything else Trunks was her friend. One of her best friends.

"Nu-uh," Pan retorted. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm handing over my best piece of dirt on you."

"Pan-chan," Trunks snarled, stalking towards her and making use of the childhood nickname. He knew it would get on her nerves since she had declared it off limits after she hit fifteen, declaring it a baby's nickname and she was no longer a baby, but a seasoned warrior (well she had helped to save the world once).

"Oh sure, that's really going to make me do what you want."

"Hand it over!"

"Noooo," Pan cried, the word ending in a squeal as he tried to make a grab for the album. She dodged and began backing away to keep out a reach as he prowled towards her, intent on getting his hands on the album. Technically it really didn't matter if he got his hands on it or not seeing as she still had the negatives. But if she gave in too easily then he would realize that and he wouldn't give up until he had found every last shred of evidence of his most embarrassing moment.

"Getting slow with age, ain't you old man," she taunted, make the occasional quick glance over her shoulder so she didn't trip over anything in her half-moved in apartment. By human standards, Trunks might have been old or at least considered middle-aged at 38, but he hardly looked it. In fact he didn't look much older then 20 (a yummy 20), which was why gold-diggers tended to love going after him. If you had to go after a rich old company president, wasn't it better to go after one that looked young and oozed sex from his pores?

"You're really asking for it tonight, aren't you, Pan-chan," he growled, which didn't have the effect he was probably going for. Instead it made her feel rather weak in the knees and a shiver go through her, although she hoped he didn't notice; or if he did, he'd just think she was cold. She did have the air conditioner on pretty high right now. She didn't realize growling could be sexy, at least not until this moment. And oh Dende, did her mind just take that and go with it in a very non-PG-13 kind of way.

"Yeah, yeah. You're all talk Trunksette," she retorted, trying to focus on their bantering. "Mirai's already filled me on how you've been slacking on your training. I could take you on with one hand tied behind my back."

"I haven't been slacking. I've just been a bit busy with the company. That sister of yours is getting as disrespectful as you. Then again I think she's been spending too much time hanging around my dad."

Trunks made an attempt to snatch the photo album from Pan's hand. She dodged, stepping to the side and scrambled back as he quickly rebounded and tried to make another grab for it. She really should have double-checked to check to see where she was going, considering she wasn't exactly a familiar with her new place as she had been with the old one; but the Saiyan Prince was making more attempts to grab the album, hoping that he would be able to catch her off guard for a moment so could get his hands on the damn album.

She tripped on the corner of her coffee table, losing her balance so she began to fall backwards. She made a grab at Trunks's arm as he tried again to get the album, having not yet realizing that Pan was actually falling. Instead of saving herself, all she managed to do was help him lose his balance as well, so they were both falling. They hit the floor with a thud, the breath being knocked out of Pan from the impact of the floor and the heavy weight of Trunks's body on her own.

"Oww," Pan groaned, reaching up to rub the back of her head before she stilled as realization sunk it. Or maybe that was feeling the warmth of Trunks's body on top of her. She had dreamed of being in this position a hundred thousand times, but her dreams couldn't compare to the actual reality even if reality was a lot more plain vanilla then her mildest dreams. Being this close again, she couldn't miss his scent, which had always seemed to her to be a mix of rain and sun, his cologne, and that underlying scent that was pure Trunks.

If it wasn't enough torture to be this close to him and be seduced by his scent alone, she also became aware of something else that caused her eyes to go big like deer in headlights. In this position, she could feel him pressed up against her. ALL of him and a certain part of his anatomy was awake and hard. Definitely not something she would have expected from him seeing as their current relationship should have worked as a dip in a pool of ice water.

Seeing the look on her face, Trunks must have realized what she had noticed because he scrambled off her quick enough with his back turned to her so she couldn't get the visual of the black silk pajama pants being tented. There was a tinge of red to his complexion, giving away his embarrassment. "Uh… I better go back to place, long day tomorrow," he said, clearly wanting to escape the situation. He moved towards the sliding door, pausing a moment to glance back at her although his eyes didn't quite meet hers. "About… sorry Pan. Female body, guys can't help reacting so… just sorry."

She watched him take off from her balcony to head back to his penthouse. The warmth of his body being on top of hers faded away as tears pricked her eyes. She knew he wasn't being cruel with his words. Just embarrassed by his reaction and explaining himself. But the explanation hurt. He'd just reacted because she happened to be the female body under him and not because he had wanted her.

"Dende, sometimes it's really fucked up to be in love," she whispered.

* * *

_**Final Thought from Pan:**__  
Just another female body…?_

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_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_  
_Hey guys. I still don't have a Beta, so this is all me on the editing which means the chances of a mistake are likely no matter how much I scanned and read the chapter to myself aloud. I apologize for them and hope that you'll take pity on me and let me know so I can fix them. I do plan to go back over all the chapters once the story is finished, hopefully with someone to Beta to help in the final edits. Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter. =)_

_I want to thank everyone who took the time to review or favorited this story in some way. It is greatly appreciated and brought a smile to my day. =)_

_**FanFictionNet**_  
nite-fire ● Natellah (_Perhaps there is more to plastic then meets the eye. And yes there will be Goten/Bra moments. While this mainly a Trunks/Pan story, there will be development of Goten/Bra and Uub/Marron, cause Pan couldn't be perfectly happy getting her man if her friends didn't too._) ● .5 ● Vegetable lov3r ● Dramamamapwnsall (_True, however remember that Goten is a Son and they can be rather clueless at times, LOL._)

_**deviantArt**_  
A7x215

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_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not claim any rights to Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Toriyama Akira and anyone else he says has rights to it._


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